A clip purportedly showing Devendra Pratap Singh Tomar, son of Union Minister and BJP candidate from Dimani Assembly seat Narendra Singh Tomar, discussing “transactions worth crores of rupees” in a video call went viral in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, leading to strong criticism from the Opposition Congress party.
Addressing an election rally in Dhar district on Monday, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “A video of India’s Agriculture Minister’s son came up yesterday. You must have seen him talking about thousands of crores.”
The 6.20-minute-long clip, purportedly shows Mr. Devendra in a video call with another man talking about “channeling” thousands of crores of funds through a middleman. The two can also be heard discussing a few bank accounts.
Mr. Devendra, terming the video “fake and doctored”, has registered a complaint with Morena Police. According to a police officer in Morena, Mr. Devendra has alleged a conspiracy to defame him and his family.
Meanwhile, Congress national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, at a press briefing in Bhopal, claimed that in the video, Mr. Tomar’s son is discussing money transactions related to industrialists in the mining industry and opening of multiple bank accounts for them.
“The word mining is appearing again and again [in the video]. We must remember that Narendra Singh Tomar ji has been the Union Minister of Steel and Mining in the past,” she said.
Questioning the delay of Central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as well as the Income Tax department in investigating the video, Ms. Shrinate also demanded swift action by the Election Commission.
“[Prime Minister Narendra] Modi ji is very fond of playing ED-ED, but here it seems that there is talk of bribes worth hundreds of crores of rupees. It seems the ED, CBI, and Income Tax have gone quiet here,” she said.
“Narendra Singh Tomar is a powerful Minister. A free and fair investigation isn’t possible until his son is arrested,” she said.
Union Minister and BJP leader Prahlad Patel, however, accused the Congress of “cheap politics”.
In Dhar, Ms. Gandhi took a jibe at Mr. Modi and asked when he will break his silence over the rising prices. “There was a time when Narendra Modi ji used to say whether [cricketer] Sachin [Tendular] will score a century first or rates of onion? Today I want to tell him that Virat [Kohli] has also scored a century as well as the onion [rates]. It’s his government now, so what will he say on this?” she asked.
The BJP and the Congress have been launching scathing attacks on each other in the run-up to the Assembly election in the State scheduled to take place on November 17.
